Question about Law School Decision

MaoC
Sun, 17 Sep 2006 07:25:21 +0000

Hello,

First of all, I would like to thank everyone in this forum who has helped me shed light on the confusion of law school and the profession itself. I think this is a great website and it truly has helped me in many ways.

After reading many threads and posts on the cost of law school and how it is a tremendous burden upon graduating, I have been thinking if I should change my goals.

I am currently a sophomore in the university of nevada las vegas (Honors College) and one of the main reasons I decided to stay in state and go to this school for my undergrad was because that I received a full ride and extra money to go to this school. My family is quite poor since my mother raised me alone. My father passed away a couple of years ago. Going to the ivy leagues was my goal in high school but that seemed to be less and less likely due to my financial situation. I was in the top of my class in high school and my gpa was around 4.6 weighted while my SATs were pretty decent. I have always wanted to go to law school and part of the reason I attended UNLV was that I could save money and not be in such a big hole already before I attend law school. And if I could go to a better law school for my law degree, my undergrad won’t matter as much. So attending UNLV, I believe was the best way for me to go since I’ll still be debt free.

I am currently aiming to apply to Berkeley, UCLA, or USC. These are the three schools that I would like to attend and I would really like to live in CA. The problem is that let’s say that I do get into one of these schools, (since I’m still not sure of my chances and haven’t taken the lsat, currently have 3.92 GPA) I would have to pay $35,000 (first year–out of state tuition), ($25,000/year for the next two years–in state tuition) and be about $90,000 in debt just for tuition. If I put a minimum of living expenses to 2,000 a month just for rent and utilities, I’ll be spending 24,000 a year and a total of 72,000 for the three years I’m in school. If I add that up, I’ll be 162,000 in debt minimum plus interest for the next 10 years so roughly I’ll be 250,000 in debt.
If I’m able to get into one of those three schools, I’ll probably be earning 125,000/year + bonuses after I graduate assuming I do well in law school.

Due to the fact that I’ll be in so much debt if I attend one of those schools, I have really been thinking of going to UNLV law school. I know that it’s nowhere near ranked the three schools I mentioned above but if I do decide to attend law school here, I’ll have a full ride (after doing research) and not be in any debt upon graduating. Since I’m staying in vegas, I’ll be living in my mom’s home which will also save a substantial part of my living expenses (rent, utilities, etc.)

My question is given the circumstances, what should I do? I’ll probably graduate at the top at UNLV and let’s say I do get a 170 on my lsat. Should I go to California attend a top ranked law school like Berkeley and then aim for a high paying corporate job to pay off my loans or is it better for me to get a full ride to unlv law school and be debt free upon graduating? I still want to take the California bar exam after graduating and practice law in CA. That’s where I want to live. It’s just that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get hired from a law firm in Ca. What do you think of the chance are for me to get hired into a Ca law firm that will pay me 80,000/year upon graduating from UNLV law school in the top 10 of my class? I’m just afraid that I’ll eliminate my chances of getting hired in Ca. if I attend UNLV law.

Scenarios:
1.) Berkeley, UCLA, USC
Average salary: 125,000 +bonus
Loan debt: 250,000 (about 25,000 per year for 10 year repayment)
Corporate job: 70-80 hours of work

2.) UNLV
No loan debt
salary in CA?- 80,000?, $70,000
maybe smaller law firm, less hours worked (correct me if I’m wrong)

Any insight and comments on your experience, opinions, and knowlege will be sincerely appreciated. What road would you take? Are there chances for me to make a higher salary after a couple of years if I take option 2? Will other law firms hire me once I gain a couple years experience in Ca and allow me to eventually make the salary of a person who graduated from Berkeley or is it impossible for me to attain that? Am I weighing the debt factor too much?